Egypt's Morsi asks military to withdraw ultimatum

CAIRO, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Tuesday night asked the military to withdraw its 48-hour ultimatum announced a day ago, and said via his Twitter account he would stick to "constitutional legitimacy."

"(He) calls on the armed forces to withdraw their warning and rejects any to be dictated to internally or externally," according to a tweet on Morsi's official Twitter page.

Morsi's persistence came after seven people were killed and over 180 injured earlier on Tuesday in clashes between his supporters and opponents across Egypt.

On Monday, the Egyptian military set a 48-hour deadline for all parties to resolve their conflict before imposing a military- supervised roadmap for the future of the turmoil-stricken country.

Hailed by anti-Morsi protesters as well as the main opposition bloc, National Salvation Front (NSF), the military's statement was interpreted as a response to the protesters' demand of ousting Islamist-oriented President Morsi.

However, on Tuesday, the presidency said the statement might " add confusion to the already complicated scene," vowing to continue its own plan "for comprehensive national reconciliation" to resolve the political division.